Welcome Home!
by SharpeBB
Summary: A Prequel to my other story, It's Always a Gamble. The story of how Tai and Mimi got together. With a little help from their best friend.


So, I wrote this because I really enjoyed writing about the surprise couple in _It's Always a Gamble_ and because I wanted to show a bit of T.K. and Kari's friendship before anything happened. Hopefully, if you liked _Gamble,_ you'll enjoy this one too!

I do have to apologise if there are any glaring mistakes. I've been waiting at the airport for 7 hours, and I have another 4 to go, so I'm kind of tired. But I wanted to get the first chapter up!

But enough of my rambling. Enjoy!

**Oh, and the Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own Digimon**

* * *

A loud knocking at the front door interrupted Tai's nap. He opened his eyes but didn't move, trying to make sense of his surroundings. The person at the door knocked again, louder this time, and Tai slowly pulled himself up, grumbling as he did so.

"Hold your horses, I'm coming."

He opened the door and looked at the young woman standing there. She had shoulder length orange hair, and deep maroon eyes. She was wearing a simple pink t-shirt and a deep red skirt.

Tai smiled at his friend until he noticed an orange and red hairclip in her hair.

"Did you have to wear that stupid thing?" He asked, motioning to the clip.

"You were the one who gave it to me Tai," Sora replied.

"Yeah but the whole situation was just such a mess! It's not like I need a reminder!"

Sora laughed as she walked past Tai into the familiar apartment. She went to sit on the couch while Tai went to the kitchen.

"What's your poison today?" he called to her.

"I'm good with water."

Tai entered the living room, handing Sora a glass of water while sipping one he grabbed for himself. He sat down on a chair, and turned to face the girl.

"So, I'm assuming everything is ready for tonight?" he asked.

"Provided we can still use your place," she told him.

"For sure. My folks are gone for another week or so, and I talked about it with Kari, and she was obviously fine with it."

"Where's Kari?" Sora asked.

"Out," was Tai's answer.

"Oooo, with a boy?" Sora asked with a wink at her friend.

"Of course not!" Tai yelled, "Well, yes technically she is out with T.K. but obviously not like that!"

Sora laughed, "You know she's going to start dating eventually, right? She's starting her third year of high school in the Fall and you're going to be off at University. It's not like you'll be able to protect her."

"You'd be surprised," Tai growled in response.

Sora rolled her eyes at her friend, "You really need to let this go Tai."

"I just don't want her dating someone who will take her for granted. Like Davis."

"He's been over her for a while! Remember he even dated Yolei for a few months!"

"Fine, but you get what I mean. I want her to be with someone you really understands her, and genuinely loves her," Tai told her.

"Well, I'm sure T.K. will smarten up eventually, and then your sister can have a boyfriend you approve of," Sora said winking at Tai, knowing he always wanted T.K. and Kari to start dating.

"Yeah, yeah," Tai smiled, "Anyway, back to the matter at hand. What time are you picking her up from the airport?"

"Well, her flight gets in at four, and I want to get changed beforehand, so I'll probably leave in about an hour or so."

"Can you help me set up until then?" Tai asked.

"Of course silly! I obviously didn't come just to chat about your love life!"

Tai rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the reminder."

"Sorry, but maybe you should just stop telling me everything," Sora laughed, "Like a certain trip to France when you lost your-"

"Oh just stop already and lets start working," Tai shouted as he stood up blushing.

Sora and stood up, giving Tai a hug.

"Sorry sweetie, it's just too easy sometimes."

Tai pulled away from his best friend and looked at her, "You're lucky that I'm not nearly as cruel to you about the things you tell me about you and Matt."

Sora smiled and blushed slightly as the two went to work preparing Tai's apartment. They worked diligently, wanting everything to be perfect. Close to an hour later, Sora told Tai that she was going to head out.

"Fair enough, there's not much left to do. Plus, Kari will be home soon with the others," he told her.

"Right, because I'm sure all the boys will be such a help."

"Haha, good point. By the way, how are you going to get her over to my place without being too obvious?" Tai asked.

"I'll just say I have to pick up some homework." Sora responded simply.

"Umm Sora, it's July," Tai said with a note of exasperation in his voice.

"Oh right," she replied, blushing.

"Tell you what, text me when you meet up with her, and I'll call you about a half hour later with an excuse to come over."

"Haha, alright thanks! See you in a bit!" Sora called over her shoulder as she left the apartment.

Tai stared at the door for a minute before smiling and continuing to work, thinking about what was to come.

"Mimi's going to love this!"

"SORA!"

"MIMI!"

The two girls embraced each other and squealed with joy as everyone walking past them stared with confusion.

"You look so good!" Mimi said when they finally broke apart.

"Me? Look at you! You've got a great tan going! And what have you done with your hair?" Sora asked.

"Actually, I'm just letting it grow naturally again," Mimi replied as she absent-mindedly played with her long brunette hair, "It just seems different because I'm not experimenting."

"Well I bet the boys love it," Sora laughed.

Mimi just smiled, "Should we get going?"

"Absolutely," Sora replied.

Mimi grabbed her suitcase and pulled it behind her as the two girls started to walk to Sora's car. Just before they exited the airport, Sora pulled out her phone, typed a quick message then put it back in her pocket. Mimi smirked at her friend.

"Just can't go for any real length of time without talking to Matt huh?"

"Well, you know, he's a worrier," Sora laughed, "Actually his band's playing a show tonight and I just wanted to wish him luck."

"Aww why aren't we going?" Mimi asked.

"Because it's in Kyoto, and I figured you would want a break from travelling today," Sora told her.

"Well, that's true. Even though I did get a lot of sleep on the plane. But we can have a good long girl's night!"

"Looking forward to it," Sora smiled.

"Oh, and before I forget, my parents wanted to tell me they say 'thank you' for putting me up for a couple days before they get here," Mimi said.

"Yeah, I meant to ask what happened."

Mimi rolled her eyes, "Oh just something stupid about the sale of our apartment in New York. For some reason the new owners insisted the keys be handed over in person or something stupid. I stopped caring to be honest."

"Well there was probably a cute boy around, right?" Sora asked slyly.

"Ha ha," Mimi replied sarcastically.

The two girls continued to catch up as they drove. Sora told Mimi about how things were with Matt, while Mimi told her about how she was glad to be away from some of the boys in America who kept pursuing her despite her turning them down. They laughed as they compared that situation to how Davis used to be with Kari. They were just on the topic of what was happening with Izzy, and if he was actually in a long distance relationship with one of the other DigiDestined when Sora's phone rang.

"Hello? Oh hey Tai! Really? Now? Are you sure it can't wait? Okay, I'll be over in a few minutes."

"What was all that about?" Mimi asked as Sora put her phone down.

"Tai apparently has a date tonight, and he wants my advice on how he looks," Sora replied as she rolled her eyes, "I hope you don't mind a bit of a detour."

"Oh no problem at all! Plus, I'll get to surprise Tai! Seeing him will be so great!" Mimi said rather excitedly.

"Thanks. He's always bugging me about this stuff, I'm way too used to it now," Sora laughed.

"So, it's not awkward between you two? Since, you know…" Mimi trailed away.

"What? Since he kinda, sorta, asked me out two and a half years ago? Of course not! We talked about it, and how we felt about each other. We both know there's a connection between us, even Matt admits it. But we realised that it's just an incredibly strong, and understanding friendship. Trust me, he got over the situation quickly," Sora told her happily.

Mimi laughed, "Yeah, I've heard he's been moving through girls quickly."

"Not exactly. He just can't hold on to one for longer than a week," Sora said, and both girls laughed.

They arrived at Tai's apartment building a few minutes later. They parked the car, and got out, going towards the elevator.

"I can't wait to see the look on Tai's face when he sees me!" Mimi said with excitement, "Do I look good?"

Sora raised an eyebrow at her friend and a small grin crept onto her face, "Yeah, you look stunning Mimi. Why does that matter though?"

Mimi's cheeks went slightly pink, "Oh you know, just want to make a good first impression after all this time."

"Uh huh," Sora responded skeptically as they reached Tai's floor. They reached his door and Sora knocked.

"It's open!" came a muffled shout from inside.

Sora smiled and opened the door, leading Mimi in.

"Guess who's here!" She called out. Mimi smiled and opened her mouth to announce herself to Tai.

"It's-"

"SURPRISE!"

Mimi screamed as ten people jumped out to startle her.

"What is this?!"

"What do you think, it's your welcome home party!" Tai announced as he walked forward and gave Mimi a hug.

"Yeah, you didn't think we'd let Sora keep you to herself tonight, did you?" Yolei asked.

"Well I certainly wasn't expecting this!" Mimi smiled, looking over Tai's shoulder she turned her head to Sora, "I can't believe you did this!"

"Don't thank me, it was all Tai's idea," Sora told her.

"Aww really, that's so sweet of you Tai!" Mimi said as she pulled out of his hug, while keeping her arm wrapped around his waist.

Tai blushed, and gave her shoulders a squeeze, "It's nothing, don't mention it."

Before Mimi could respond, Kari grabbed her wrist and pulled her further into the apartment.

"Come on, we're not letting Tai hog you all night, we want to catch up!"

Everyone laughed, and followed Kari and Mimi into the living room, leaving Tai alone in the entrance hallway. He watched his friends for a moment and smiled.

_Man, I can't believe how great it is to see Mimi again. And she looks absolutely gorgeous! I mean, she was always pretty cute but now… Wait, why am I thinking about her this way? Must be because I haven't seen her for such a long time, and I'm in a bit of a rut. Yeah, that's it. Nothing to worry about._

Tai shook his head and went to join everyone else. He sat himself on the floor, next to T.K. and started chatting with everyone else.

The group stayed gathered together for a while, as everyone questioned Mimi about the move back to Odaiba and if she was excited to finishing school in Japan rather than America. Eventually though, the party split off into different groups. Some people hung out in the kitchen, others in Tai and Kari's bedroom, and some stayed in the living room.

No matter where they went however, Mimi noticed that she and Tai always wound up at the same spot. She didn't think anything of it at first, but when she noticed that she and Tai were standing together for the fifth time, she wondered what exactly was going on.

_He's not following me around is he? No, he can't be! I was the one who found him joking around with Cody, Matt and Sora. And when I came back from the bathroom, I went into his dad's office where he was talking about soccer with Ken and Davis. It's just got to be a coincidence. It's just cause I thought I was going to surprise him earlier, so I'm thinking about him a lot. That's all it is._

Mimi felt reassured for a moment, before turning to look at Tai. He noticed her gaze, and gave her a big smile. Mimi felt her stomach lurch as she smiled back, maybe there was more to what was going on.

"You enjoying the evening so far Mimi?" Tai asked her.

"Of course I am! There's nothing like seeing the most important people in my life. I'm so happy you did this," she beamed at him, before walking off.

Tai smiled as she entered the living room, and let his gaze linger on her as she started to talk to Joe and Izzy. He was about to turn and start talking with Kari, T.K. and Yolei when he noticed Sora watching him from the hallway. She had a small smirk on her face as she jerked her head, motioning for Tai to come with her.

Tai followed her as she made her way out of the front door of the apartment. Once he was outside with her, Sora made sure the door was closed, and turned to Tai.

"Ask her out," she said bluntly.

"Uhh, what are you talking about?" Tai asked with genuine confusion in his voice.

Sora rolled her eyes, knowing that Tai wasn't trying to be clever.

"Mimi you idiot! You two have been inseparable all night, and you can barely stop looking at each other!"

"What!" Tai cried out as he blushed, "That's crazy. It's just a coincidence that we've been around each other all night. I mean, it is a small apartment. And she's the guest of honour, who else am I supposed to look at?"

"Tai, did you even notice when Davis slapped Kari's ass?"

"Of course I- HE DID WHAT?" Tai shouted as he registered what Sora had said.

"Don't worry," Sora laughed, "T.K. kneed him in the groin before Kari could even try to slap him. But the point is, that happened right in front of you, but you were watching Mimi talk to Yolei about boys! With an extremely jealous look on your face I might add."

Tai sighed and leant on the wall.

"Look I admit that I've been seeing Mimi in a different light tonight, but I don't know if it's the right move! I mean, you have to admit I haven't been doing very well lately. Plus, I'm moving away in less than two months and she still has another year here. I just don't know if it's worth it for what could very well be just a brief infatuation."

Sora looked at him for a moment as she considered his words.

"You raise a lot of good points. And I understand your hesitation. Just promise me that if you feel the impulse to make a move or something, that you'll act on it. You are supposed to be the courageous one after all," she finished with a wink.

Tai rolled his eyes, "Okay I promise. But you're not allowed to use that as a reason for me to do something for another year."

Sora laughed as the two friend went back into the apartment, and they instantly noticed that someone had decided to blast the music and everyone was now dancing together.

"Well this is different from five minutes ago," Tai said with an amused expression on his face.

"Damn right it is!" Matt shouted happily, "Sora, come on over babe!"

"You too Tai!" Mimi called out.

Sora gave Tai a half smug, half amused look as she went to join her boyfriend. Tai just chuckled and shook his head as he walked over to Mimi and started dancing.

Everyone was enjoying the new energy that had been injected into the party. For a few minutes, everyone moved in sync with the loud dance music, until Joe felt nauseous and had to sit down to make sure he didn't throw up. Izzy soon joined him, when he received a message on his D-Terminal, and decided that responding to it was more important. Davis continued to try and impress everyone with his break dancing abilities, but quickly kicked Ken in the face. Ken rushed to the bathroom to make sure his nose wasn't bleeding too much and Davis followed, apologising like a mad man.

The eight that remained on the dance floor continued to dance uninterrupted until an incredibly slow song came on. It took everyone a moment to realise that there had been a complete change in pace, and everyone laughed once they realised what had happened.

Once everyone calmed down, Sora smiled and flung her arms around Matt's neck, and he embraced her as they slowly started revolving on the spot. Yolei and Cody collapsed on the couch with Joe and Izzy, taking the change of music as a cue to relax for a bit.

Kari just smiled at T.K. as she wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head on his chest. T.K., just chuckled as he hugged his best friend back, and started dancing. Tai watched them from across the room and rolled his eyes. _And Sora wonders why I think those two belong together. When they act like this it's hard to believe they aren't dating! _He turned to Mimi and smiled.

"So Mimi, which one of the couch potatoes are you gonna take?" He asked as he waved at Joe and Izzy.

Mimi just laughed as she threw her arms around Tai's chest.

"Neither. I think Joe's too out of it. Plus, I know Izzy would rather dance with Mina…"

"WHAT?!" Izzy shouted from the couch, blushing furiously.

"You're not the only one she talks to you know Iz," Mimi laughed, as Izzy hung his head. She raised her head to look at Tai, "So I guess I'm stuck dancing with you."

Tai smiled as he wrapped his arms around Mimi.

"Man, that's a shame you got so unlucky."

"Yeah, I have to dance with the cute Soccer captain. I don't know if life can get any worse," she said, winking at him.

Tai's cheeks went slightly pink as they began to dance. The whole time he held Mimi in his arms, he kept thinking about what Sora had said earlier. He didn't doubt his own emotions at the moment, but he still wasn't sure if Mimi would be interested at all. But as the slow music finally ended, and Mimi pulled away, he looked into her eyes. He instantly felt his heart ache and knew that he'd have to act on his promise to Sora.

"Mimi I was-" He began before being cut off by a yell.

"Damnit Davis stop trying to help!"

Ken came charging out of the bathroom with two wads of tissue shoved in his nose and a look of fury on his face. Davis was trailing after him, still apologising profusely.

"What did he do now?" Kari asked, as she broke away from T.K. and approached Ken.

"As the bleeding finally slowed down, he decided to give me a pat on the back. But somehow, he missed, hit my head and knocked me into the wall!" Ken shouted as he glared at Davis.

"It was an accident! I said I was sorry!" Davis replied, his voice filled with guilt.

Everyone laughed for a minute, before Cody checked his watch.

"Whoa look at the time! I better get going!"

Everyone voiced their agreement, and slowly, everyone started to clean up.

"Guys, just let it go. Kari and I will look after everything," Tai told them.

"Are you sure Tai?" Ken asked.

"Definitely. You should go home. And make sure you're alright."

Ken smiled and turned to leave, "Thanks Tai. It was a great night. For the most part. Good to see you again Mimi!"

"Wait I'll come with you!" Davis called out as he took off after Ken.

Joe rolled his eyes, and looked at Yolei and Cody, "Do you guys want a ride home? I'm dropping Izzy off already so I can help you too."

"Perfecto! I'm too tired to walk," Yolei said while stifling a yawn.

Cody just smiled and nodded.

"Well then let's get going! See you later guys," Joe told everyone, as he gave Mimi a hug, "Great to have you back in town."

"Yeah, it's always nicer to have you around," Izzy agreed, as he hugged Mimi once Joe had finished.

"Aww, you guys are just too much," Mimi said with a smile.

As the four of them left, Mimi turned to see Tai still cleaning, T.K. was hugging Kari, and suddenly picked her up and spun her around, while Sora and Matt were giving each other a kiss goodnight.

"T.K. why do you always do that!" Kari mockingly scolded him when he put her down.

"Cause you're my best friend and I know I can get away with it," he smirked, while Kari just rolled her eyes.

"Well if you're all done torturing your best friend, let's get going kiddo," Matt said once he let go of Sora.

"Jerk," T.K. replied shortly. He gave Kari one last hug, before giving one to Mimi.

"See you later Meems," Matt said as he gave Mimi a hug as well, "Hopefully now I'll have time to practise with the band while Sora's hanging out with you."

Mimi laughed as Sora punched her boyfriend in the arm. With one last wave, Matt and T.K. departed as well.

"You guys gonna head out too?" Tai asked Sora and Mimi.

"No we're staying to help clean up," Mimi replied before Sora could even open her mouth.

"Oh don't worry about that," Kari began, "Tai and I can handle this."

"Nope," Mimi smiled at her, "I'm helping and you just have to deal with it."

Sora laughed as Tai and Kari just shook their heads, and the four of them began to finish cleaning the apartment.

Although he didn't want her to have to clean up at a party that was thrown for her, Tai was glad that she had wanted to stay for a little longer. Hopefully he could still get a chance to ask her out. With everyone pitching in, the cleanup took a surprisingly short amount of time. Within half an hour, the only evidence of the party were two large garbage bags.

"Well, I guess we just need to take these to the trash chute and that's it," Kari told them.

"I'll help you take them down Kari," Sora said, as she glanced at Tai. He fought back against rolling his eyes.

_She's always got an angle._ He thought to himself.

Once Kari and Sora left the apartment, Tai slumped against the wall in the hallway, and Mimi leant on the wall next to him. They were quiet for a moment, blankly staring ahead of them, before Mimi turned to Tai.

"Thanks for doing this Tai. This was so incredibly sweet," she said happily.

Tai smiled as he looked back at her, "I was more than happy to. I've really missed you. And it's always worth it to make someone you care about happy."

Mimi blushed slightly as they continued to look at each other. Tai resisted an urge to kiss her right then. He knew he needed to do things properly. Plus, how would it look if Kari and Sora walked in on the two of them kissing?

"Hey Mimi, can I ask you something?" He began tentatively.

"Of course you can Tai! You can always ask me anything."

Tai smiled at the sincerity in her voice.

"Well, I was just wondering, would you wanna go out with me tomorrow night?"

Mimi really did blush at this.

"Like, just hanging out or-"

"No. On a date," Tai said.

Mimi thought for a moment before smiling widely.

"I'd love to Tai."

"Really? You mean it?" He asked, though he knew he didn't need to. He could tell she meant what she had said.

"Absolutely silly!"

Tai smiled, "Well I'll-" he was interrupted by the door opening and Kari and Sora returning.

"I'll talk to you about it tomorrow then" Tai said quickly hoping he wasn't too obvious.

Mimi nodded and gave Tai a hug.

"Well, I guess Sora and I should get going," she said, "Talk to you later! And thanks again! You too Kari"

"Any time Mimi!" Kari replied as the two girls embraced.

Sora smiled as she walked up and gave Tai a hug.

"Well?" she asked softly in his ear.

"I'm sure she'll tell you," he whispered back smiling.

Sora nodded as she broke away from Tai.

The two girls waved as they walked out of the apartment. Tai stood smiling after them for a moment, before Kari noticed him.

"What's with you?" she asked.

Tai gave a small chuckle before replying.

"Nothing. Just a really good night."

* * *

Hope you're enjoying it so far! Hopefully I'll have the next part up soon!

Please give it a review!


End file.
